SteveDeech

Lexus is not big on making changes early in the cycle. Maybe the V6 which will not be much more powerful than the 4. It on has 20 more horsepower.

To me the present car is very good. I would like to see them detune the 4 to except regular gas. The .60 cents per gallon is crazy. It has nothing to do with if you can afford the car you can afford the gas. I would look to quiet down the wind and road noise inside the cabin by installing acoustical glass on the side windows. Presently only the windshield has it. Maybe a little more H.P. but it is fine the way it is, not a racer but a luxury compact SUV. The 4 is very smooth and works well with the 6 speed auto.

Just my 2 cents. Everyone is intitled to there opinion. I think sometimes people are looking for more than what was intended, just a compact SUV with plenty of luxury at an affordable price.

lalin

We have another couple of weeks until our 3G RX lease ends and started road testing smaller lux SUV.
Due to brand loyalty the NX was our first choice and test. Both my wife and I hated it. It had no power, it was very noisy and we could hear the road imperfections. After trying to use the infotainment system with the track pad, I run for the hills.
Next in line was the MKC. What a nice car it is. The 2.3 engine was a blast, the cabin was whisper quiet and the ride was great. The only annoying thing was the button shifter. Due to poor reliability and bad customer service we decided we are not ready for Lincoln,
The last one on our list was the RDX. The ride, engine, reliability, etc were all great. The only annoyance was that the steering wheel is not powered for the driver adjustment. Also, the car looks a bit bland.
The clock is ticking on us so we need to make a desicion soon. My guess is that it will be the RDX.

SteveDeech

The RDX is a very bland car. No matter what the car there will always be something that you will not be attracted to. For me, all three cars have there plus and minuses. The NX hands down has the best looks and yes it rides sportier which gives you a harsher ride. As for the power, I really don't get it. I think it has good smooth power even in ECO. You can put it in sport and it is noticeably quicker. It is not supposed to be a fast car. Yes the RDX is spirited but it is a V6. I just don't think is has very nice body lines and if I am going to spend $40K plus I better really like the car. As for the MDX it is not a very reliable car. Out of all of them you can't beat the reliability of a Lexus.

There are other premium compact SUV's that you can look at. The number one being the BMW X3. You may not like it because it has a bit of a sporty ride. The 4 is very spirited.

Good luck in whatever you desire on.

coolsaber

Too much bold lol

I think spirited wise the Acura and Lexus are are far removed from it. The Acura has the edge on power, but since they both are tuned for comfort then anything, dont expect corners being cut like F1 or even similar to its RWD competition

The NX is a head turner with its sharp body lines, modern powerplant (hopefully reliable as toyota has been in the past), trusted transmission, and of course interior initial quality. However it pays the price, in visually apparent cost cutting, exposed screws, lack luster infotainment (which is a Lexus thing so not NX only), engine note that is quite intrusive and makes the 4 banger known, and lack of safety features and aids, and of course interior volume.

The Acura is by all means a great value. Bigger trusted powertrain both engine and transmission, much more usable interior volume, better safety tech/aids. The Acura does pay the price in interior quality (very honda like), some questionable exterior styling choices, infotainment.

For those interested in fuel econ:
Overall if you want more spirit, look to its german rivals. If you want a reliable vehicle, then you look at Acura or Lexus. No one car is good with both.

lalin

We are not looking for spirited driving at all just a comfortable and quiet ride that has all the new safety bells and whistles. We felt that the NX struggled to much and was very noisy. The interior is certainly nice but the exterior looks too angular for me.
The German options are too expensive and reliability on some of them is questionable.
On the other hand, as I said, the RDX looks bland but checks almost all the other boxes.
I hope that in 3 years from now when the new lease is over I will have an option that checks all the boxes...

TechNut

We moved from an RX to an NX. The NX definitely isn't as luxurious or as powerful as the RX but that is part of the tradeoff we anticipated in downsizing. It is a smaller wheelbase vehicle with a 4 cylinder engine. Frankly, the RDX was a very close second for us. The NX had all the power we needed (and the hybrid one at that), it was lower to the ground which suited my wife better, it was slightly quieter and the seats were definitely more comfortable. I also liked the triple LEDs and daylight running lights better - oh, and as others have already stated, the NX is much better looking. Both are excellent cars and I don't think you can go wrong either way.

I do agree with what others here have already stated, you are looking at the wrong cars if your expectations are for a spirited drive. The RDX felt like it had a tad more torque, but it didn't feel particularly powerful either. That is a very subjective opinion of course. We also settled on a hybrid, so we clearly weren't in search of power.. We haven't missed the extra power of the RX at all, but the ride definitely isn't as smooth or quiet.

Edit: I see you posted again while I was composing my message. I should say the angular shape took some getting used to, especially the grill. But it has grown on me to the point I really like it. I'm not suggesting you should get it and "learn to like it", just that I have come to like it better after living with it for a while. As you said yourself, you found the RDX to be bland, and love you can't call the NX styling bland...

lalin

What I find mind blowing is how Lexus with its new sportier/edgier design is going against everything they represented and did since they were born as a company. They alienated a large percentage of their user base.
We were rabid Lexus supporters and owners of 4 different Lexus in a row. The new grill, ride, size of the RX and test drive of the NX killed the loved affair.
It's funny, when I called Lexus to get the details about the lease return, they transferred me to the Customer Retention Dept (or something like that). When I told the guy I was not getting another RX because I didn't like it, HE told me "it's the grill, right?". That means that they must be tired of hearing people complaining about it.
Lexus should stick to its roots and proven winning formula! If they want a sportier/edgier version of the RX, then go crazy with the F sports series onLy. The vast majority of the RX sales are non F, however all have the ridiculous grille, non restrained creased design, sportier ride. It is the tail wagging the dog.

TechNut

Good point. The "smashed Darth Vader grill" and increased size were simply non-starters for us regarding a new RX. I did not personally have the same reaction to the NX however. I don't mind the creases and edgier new look, and thank goodness the grill isn't as pronounced on the NX compared to the RX. That said, I do think you are correct. The new design language is likely to alienate many of their traditional customers.

It seems pretty obvious to me that Lexus is courting a younger target market. I have seen similar comments and even some stats showing the same thing on here. I can't locate those right off hand, but a few brief searches on this board should locate them if curious. I guess the bottom line is Lexus knew their new design language was going to be polarizing but they want to build sportier cars and draw in a younger clientele. Perhaps they figure the older loyal customers are going to be buying fewer cars in the future so they need to grow their market by going after those younger buyers. I feel your frustration, but I also understand Lexus' desire to expand their traditional market.

kent2174

quickly grabbed YTD SUV sales thru June. NX is holding in there while RDX is tanking.
Not sure how this copy/paste is going to appear:
the actual link is: http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/07...-2016-ytd.html


Rank SUV/Crossover June June % June June % Change
▾ 2016 YTD 2015 YTD Change 2016 2015
#38 Acura RDX 26,276 25,713 2.20% 3,593 5,056 -28.90%
#43 Lexus NX 23,290 20,049 16.20% 4,069 3,503 16.20%
#22 Lexus RX 49,412 44,279 11.60% 8,045 7,233 11.20%
#63 Lincoln MKC 12,111 11,332 6.90% 1,989 1,947 2.20%

SteveDeech

Let me say this, when I first got the NX I was a little disappointed primarily because of the road noise and the quietness of the cabin. I expressed this with the delayer rep to include the outside District Tech. We were all in agreement about the road noise because of the OEM tires which I have since changed. It has made such a big difference. As for the quietness of the cabin it really is not that bad and not much worse than my RX330 I had. The side glass on the NX is not acoustical glass. Only the windshield is. Most passengers in the car say that my car is very quiet.

I personally think the ride is very smooth and the turbo 4 is very good. Is it fast, no but, None of us that bought the NX bought it for how fast it was. The RX was originally only 220 h.p. Where the NX is 235 and with the turbo you have more torque.

The NX grew on me considerably over my first 6 months of ownership. The RX to me has gotten to big as far as I'm concerned. As for the look, that also grew on me. Many people have told me they love the look of the car. Of course this is subjective and you should buy what you like. I have owned four Lexus cars over time and I will tell you there is no car built better and more reliable. This is some who has bought several cars over my lifetime, more than 35 new both luxury and standard cars.

coolsaber

YTD to seems to be fine. The Acura 17s just hit the lot, so expect numbers for July to be higher. Right now from what I have heard from recent buyers is that if you can skip some features, you can pick up a mid tier MDX for the same price as the highly specd NX or RDX. This works in anyone in the market favor since the 17 MDX just went thru a LCI.

aztr0

My first choice was the NX and my 2 test drives weren't quite impressive. I have similar complaints. Noisy, felt the crappy roads of NYC too much, wasn't as preppy as the RDX I was comparing to. My other choice was the 2016 RDX Advance. It has all the safety and luxury features Lexus deems an option (power liftgate, etc.). It has the V6 power and was quiet. I was ready to pull the trigger on the RDX after many back and forths with the wife and my head. I finally decided to hold off until the 2017 NX to see if there's anything special. What made me finally decide to wait was the RDX 2017. RDX has the same interior as the 2013? 2014? Time for an update. While the interior looks fine in person, it does look a bit dated... Acura also hasn't figured out what they really want to do. How many spindles have they gone through? The 2017 MDX currently rocks their new spindle, which looks like a black hole if you see it in person... while the 2017 RDX sticks with the previous spindle?

NXOwner

What is a spindle? I've always known it to be a part of a vehicle's suspension system.

lalin

We pulled the trigger on a 2017 RDX Advanced. Truth be said, a bit pinching our noses.

LBCDan

I hope they add a folding electric mirror option (available in Europe), Heads Up Display (also available in Europe) and 19 inch wheels standard on the F-sport version.